Second Battle of Mars
The Second Battle of Mars, also known as Operation K2, was an early battle of the Garmillas-Earth War fought in the vicinity of the planet Mars. Facing the technological superiority of their adversaries, the United Nations Cosmo Navy deployed a large number of warships, and under the leadership of Admiral Juzo Okita, was able to drive the invading Great Garmillas Imperial Astro Fleet ships away from the inner solar system. Background Multiple ships of the Great Garmillas Empire were detected in the outer solar system on April 1, 2191, leading to immediate preparation of a UN Cosmo Navy fleet to intercept the aliens. Neither side attempted communication, and upon close approach, the Earth vessels opened fire, triggering a counterattack that wiped out much of the fleet and began humanity's first interstellar war. As the technologically advanced Garmillas forces appeared to move toward a direct assault on the human homeworld, the leadership of the combined United Nations Cosmo Force readied a UNCN defense fleet. Juzo Okita, hero of the Second Inner Planet War and commander of the first contact fleet until his abrupt removal from the position by Cosmo Force general Kotetsu Serizawa, was trusted to lead the new action ("Messenger of Iscandar", "A World I Once Saw"). Once the Garmillas ships neared Mars, the decision was made to strike there ("Out of the Forest of Memory"). Engagement at Mars Okita led the assembled Cosmo Navy fleet from the space battleship Kirishima, which was also crewed by chief engineer Hikozaemon Tokugawa and weapons officer Mamoru Kodai ("Memories of the Blue Planet"). Many UNCN officers and crew were killed and much of the Cosmo Navy fleet was destroyed, but Okita's tactical skill and the relatively greater numbers of Earth ships enabled them to drive the Garmillas from the inner solar system ("Messenger of Iscandar", "Memories of the Blue Planet"). Aftermath The battle raised morale among the people of Earth despite its great cost, demonstrating that victory over their adversary was not impossible ("Messenger of Iscandar"). The battle also elevated the reputation of Admiral Okita, to the jealous irritation of General Serizawa; the general's view of Okita would be tainted for years afterward.[http://yamato2199.net/character_serizawa.html Official Space Battleship Yamato 2199 website character data on Kotetsu Serizawa] Following its defeat at Mars, the Garmillas military changed its tactics against Earth. Diverting significant military resources would have been difficult, given that the empire's capacity to fight was already being strained by invasions and occupations elsewhere ("Prison Planet 17"). However, Earth was identified by the empire as a candidate for "Garmillasforming," reshaping the planet's biosphere and reconstructing it to more perfectly suit the needs of Garmillans who would eventually be able to migrate there ("O Teresa, Cry for Dessler!"). Garmillas forces therefore pulled back to the outer solar system, established a well-defended and hidden base of operations on Pluto, and installed a reflection satellite cannon to begin a long-distance siege of Earth in 2193 with planet bombs. Over the next several years, the UNCF would be helpless to stop the bombing that turned the surface of the homeworld into a wasteland and drove the remaining human population underground ("Messenger of Iscandar", "The Trap on All Sides", "Out of the Forest of Memory"). References Japanese language information 第二次火星の戦い Dainiji Kasei no Tatakai Category:Garmillas-Earth War Category:Battles (2199) Category:Events (2199)